You value your employees, right? You pay them well, keep them trained and motivated. But are you doing enough to make them feel like a valued part of your organization?
What about your facilities’ restrooms? A clean restroom has a positive effect on your workforce because good restroom hygiene practices show that you care about your employees, as well as the facility.
Consider the converse impact from a dirty, smelly bathroom.
A clean restroom is also important, and not just for aesthetic reasons. If not keep clean, it’s easy for germs and bacteria to spread.
Study Findings
There are four core areas in a restroom from which most odors emanate, reveals an 18-month study investigation conducted by the University of Toledo and Impact Products, a leading manufacturer of innovative tools and products for the professional cleaning and building industries. The findings were based on field studies, air testing and interviews with restroom users, custodial workers and janitorial managers.
According to the research, the four root causes and primary locations of restroom odor are:
- Missing the target – Uric acid, as a result of men urinating on floors, walls or their shoes, causes bacteria buildup, and that produces odors.
- Splashes – Even when the target has been successfully met, uric acid may still splatter on surrounding surfaces. The most impacted surfaces are adjacent partitions.
- Urine in grout areas – Found in both men’s and women’s restrooms, urine is absorbed into grout. As the uric acid in the urine builds up, once again odors are released.
- Ineffective maintenance – While uric acid was identified as the key odor-causing culprit, it appears many of the products, tools or cleaning solutions used to clean restrooms were not effectively removing the uric acid and, with it, restroom odors.
The study also confirmed what similar studies have uncovered, says Robb Borgen, director of marketing, Impact Products. That is that most restroom users perceive a restroom as dirty based on its smell, no matter how it may look.
Fight the Odors
To combat restroom odors, Borgen suggests that cleaning professionals and building managers develop a comprehensive odor-fighting system that comprises the following four components:
- Determine what is causing the odors (in most cases, uric acid).
- Determine where the odors are occurring.
- Determine what types of cleaning products (tools, equipment, solutions) can best eradicate the odor.
- Deploy an odor control solution, such as a fragrance or an olfactory disruption that changes odor perception, to leave behind a fresh scent.
